


we're not just friends

by acejasongrace



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: @ dreamworks: let them be in love you cowards !!!!!!!, Fluff, Holding Hands, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Light Angst, M/M, One Shot, Pining, actually idk what to tag this as, au where keith didn't join the bom cause fuck that, it's very light and there for 0.1 seconds but thought i'd tag, not sure what timeline this is actually set in?, they talk about feelings for 2 seconds and lance is low key pining that counts right
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 11:15:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13879704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acejasongrace/pseuds/acejasongrace
Summary: Lance can't sleep, and so can't Keith. Instead they have a small chat about life in the middle of the night.title from we're not just friends by parks, squares and alleys because i suck at titles and it kinda fits this





	we're not just friends

Lance was turning and tossing in his sheets, sleep not coming even though how hard he tried. It wasn’t that he wasn’t tired, he was, exhausted even, but that his head was so full of thoughts. And they weren’t the usual bad thoughts keeping Lance awake, no, he thought about his family, his actual family who he missed so much it hurt, and his new family. Especially about a certain black haired boy.

Groaning, he sat up, throwing his blanket aside and stretching his arms. The air in his room felt thick, his head in need of some fresh air.

Slowly, Lance rolled out of his bed, and dressed up lazily. Yawning slightly, he walked to the door, opening it and stepping into the hallway.

The castle was quiet.

Sure, it had always been. With what seemed to be an endless amount of rooms, and seven people, there was almost always a calm feeling in the atmosphere. One that didn’t quite disappear even when the team was discussing something, Shiro’s patient voice getting lost in Lance’s jokes, Hunk’s suggestions, Pidge’s retorts and occasionally at something that Keith said, along with Allura and Coran’s smiles and tries to come up with a plan everyone was okay with.

But at night? The castle was silent.

Silence wasn’t the same thing as quiet, Lance decided. Quiet meant quick whispers, small foot steps and barely heard breaths. Silence meant nothing.

The colder air outside of his room woke him up, and suddenly Lance felt alert. He wasn’t exactly sure where he was heading, but he was walking towards the hangar, which didn’t seem like such a bad idea.

It wasn’t long until Lance reached the hangar, his feet moving swiftly on the floor in an attempt to make no noise, so nobody would wake up. 

Needless to say, he was surprised to see that someone was already inside. Lance tried to make sense of the figure, sitting right in front of Red. All though it was dark, he managed to see the figure’s black hair. Man, he would recognice that mullet anywhere.

Keith was crouched, murmuring something that Lance wasn’t able to make sense of. For a while, he considered his choices. Then he went closer, opening his mouth.

”What are you doing here? It’s like, three in the morning”, Lance asked, sitting next to the other boy.

Keith apparently hadn’t noticed him earlier, wincing slightly, his eyes widening. He turned his face to Lance.

”What are you doing here?” he questioned, voice a bit hoarse, like he had been crying. There was no bite behind the words, just genuine surprise. Lance smiled a bit. There had been a time where both of them couldn’t go a minute without some sort of bickering, but they had gotten so much closer during the months. From friendly rivals to team mates to friends, they now trusted each other instead of arguing everytime they saw the other.

Maybe more than just ’to friends’, Lance thought as his cheeks reddened a bit looking at Keith’s face.

Lance shrugged, shaking his thoughts out of his head. ”I couldn’t sleep”

”So couldn’t I”, Keith snapped. 

Silence fell between the two boys. It didn’t necessarily feel like an uncomfortable one, but Lance still wanted to break it.

”You still didn’t answer my question, Mullet. What are you doing here?”

Keith’s face reflected a hint of guilt, but he didn’t answer. Lance looked at him expectingly, raising his right eyebrow. The black haired boy blushed.

”I came here to say good bye to Red”, he mumbled, the words holding a questioning tone.

Before Lance could answer, Keith was already talking again. 

”I mean, I never had a chance to say good bye to her, because suddenly Black chose me. I know Red’s your lion now, but I just… wanted to talk to her one last time? I don’t want to be the Black paladin, especially now that Shiro is back, and it’s because of me that he is without a lion, which doesn’t make sense because I don’t even feel that bond with Black as strong as I did with Red. I just-”, he stopped the ramble, looking surprised that he had actually said something. 

Lance stopped him. ”Hey man, it’s okay”, he said softly. ”The lion chooses their paladin, not the other way around. You can’t possibly do anything about this situation”

Keith sighed.

”I just seem to lose everything I consider as family or home. I’ve never known my mother, then my dad left, I got kicked out of the Garrison, then Shiro disappeared. And now I’m not even the Red paladin anymore” he stopped for a second, biting his lower lip. ”I don’t know what would happen if I lost you. Lost the rest of the team”

Lance stared at him, shocked. Keith rarely talked about his feelings, and that left Lance wondering. How many nights had he stayed up, without nobody to talk to, alone.

Lance knew that feeling.

”I’m sorry, you just probably wanted to spend some time alone. I can just go now”, Keith suddenly blurted, looking embarassed. He rose up quickly, but Lance grabbed his hand and pulled him back down. Keith’s eyes stayed at their linked hands, something changing in them. Lance debated if he should let go or not. He didn’t.

”No, as I said, it’s okay. Just talk to me. I don’t know for how long you have just bottled up your emotions, but that has to stop. I’m not- we’re not going anywhere. Nobody is going to leave you. Shiro disappeared, but he came back”, Lance assured softly, tightening his grip on Keith’s hand, scared that he was going to let go.

Keith wasn’t.

”He has changed”, Keith whispered hesitantly.

”I don’t know what he’s been through, but everyone changes, and that’s another thing you can’t do anything about”, Lance responded. He felt a small sting inside him. Shiro had indeed changed, changed so much that he seemed like a different person, but now was not the time for him to share his suspicions. 

”Hell, I’ve changed too. My family probably won’t recognice me anymore when I get back”, he chuckled. Lance spaced out, staring at the wall, as he thought about his words. ”That is, if I ever get back to home. Who knows when this war is going to end, or if it’s even going to?”

Lance blinked once, twice, and continued. ”They probably think that I’m dead. Maybe they have already held a funeral for me. Or maybe they have forgotten” He was scared, not being able to decide which of the options terrified him more. He didn’t want his family to grieve him, to worry for him, and to be honest, not even to hope for him to come back, because there was a chance he wouldn’t.

But he was scared of being forgotten too. Was it a selfish thought? Because didn’t he still just want his family’s life to continue normal?

Keith’s voice cut through his thoughts, and Lance realized he was on the verge of tears. He was looking at the brown haired boy with a shocked expression.

”Lance, I’m sure that they haven’t forgotten. They’re waiting for you, and you’re going to get back”

Lance’s bottom lip quivered, and he was too close to crying, his eyes filling with hot tears. The look in Keith’s eyes toughened.

”Look, I’m going to get you back to your family as soon as this war is over. And until then, they’ll just have to wait. I promise you. It’ll all be over soon, and you’ll see them again, see Earth again, okay?” he reassured, his words having a serious ring in them. His look softened. ”You’ll get back”

He nodded a little, and then Keith did something that surprised him. The other boy pulled him into a tight hug, putting his hands on Lance’s lower back. He was surprised for a second, but soon he had put his hands around Keith, resting his head in his shoulder, letting a small smile spread on his face . After some time he swifted, and Keith quickly pulled his hands away, blushing and apologising.

”I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that”

Lance cut him off. ”It’s fine”, he chuckled. He didn’t feel the need to cry anymore, but the horrible feeling was still there.

Keith smiled, relieved, but he didn’t pull Lance into another hug, which Lance felt kinda disappointed at. However, they were still sitting really closely, their hands almost touching. Lance could’ve took Keith’s hand into his, but he didn’t.

”Tell me about them”

Lance raised his gaze from the floor, and looked at Keith, who looked like he was expecting something. It took him a while to realize, that he was asking Lance to tell him about his family.

”Oh? My family?” 

Keith nodded and did what Lance had almost done, lacing their fingers together. Lance smiled.  
”Well, there’s my mom. She’s really sweet, and kind, but can be really tough when she is needed to be. And that is often with such a large family. And there’s my dad, who is quiet and often at work, but still spent a lot of time with us, especially when we were kids”

Keith had a mix of jealousy and sadness in his eyes, but Lance decided to ignore it because of the small smile on his lips, and the slight raise in his eye brows.

”And my big sister. We used to fight a lot when we were younger, but then we became so much closer during the years- now she’s studying law. And my big brother got married two years ago, and his wife was actually a few months pregnant when we left Earth. The baby has probably been born already, and I was supposed to be the best uncle in the world”, Lance continued, sighing heavily, suddenly feeling guilty.

”I have two little brothers and a little sister too. I really, really miss them”, he whispered. ”And they don’t even know if I’m alive”

Keith looked at him with a sympathetic look, squeezing Lance’s hand. 

”They’re your family. I’m sure they have a feeling at the bottom of their stomach telling them that you are okay”

Lance shrugged. ”Maybe”

Keith was looking at him with an unreadable expression on his face, and he kept on closing and opening his mouth, like he wanted to say something. However, he didn’t. They remained there, shyly looking at each other, until Keith finally said something.

”I just, I never had a family”, he said. It didn’t really sound sad, it was more of a statement, which made Lance’s stomach churn.

”You have one now”, Lance said.

Keith’s lips curved into a small smile. 

”Yeah. I guess I do”

The castle wasn’t silent anymore, because Lance could hear Keith’s breathing, he could even hear his heart beat, and he felt his black hair against his cheek. Lance wanted to touch it.

Keith squeezed his hand, and then let go, getting up. He ran his fingers through his hair, and looked at Lance.

”Thanks for talking with me. I’ll leave you alone now”, he said with a smile, and then he was gone.

Lance really wanted him to not leave, but he said nothing as Keith’s foot steps stopped echoing in his ears, turning the quietness back into silence, leaving Lance alone.

He didn’t know what was happening between him and Keith, Lance thought, twiddling with his fingers. But it felt nice. Comforting. Keith made the silence more bearable. He made Lance’s stomach churn and his cheeks blush, his hands shaking ever so slightly. Keith was a brat, he got angry too easily, he was reckless, but he was also brave. He was loyal and he was kinder than he seemed. Keith smiled at Lance’s stupid jokes and had a habit of twirling his hair with his fingers. Not that Lance had noticed.

Lance missed his family. He really did. But he had friends he could trust his goddamn life with, and if he couldn’t be at home, he was more than grateful to be here, with this friends. With Keith.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm aware that this isn't very good and i have never published a fic before this but i kinda wanted to :/
> 
> please comment and i swear i will die from happiness !!!! also you can give me fic ideas for the future cause god knows i need them


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